bdstickks0944

Totally over rated 

23 minutes ago, Cruising Princess said:

Okay do folks remember growing up when your mother served you string beans that were previously frozen. They were olive green colored and mushy and tasted nasty.
 

Well that’s what they are now serving in Blu (aqua class) restaurant along side their short rib dish. I confirmed with the head waiter that yes indeed they switched to frozen to save money.

 

I under a company needs to cut costs, raise prices , etc….but not to sacrifice quality. Doing so results in customers looking at other options. 
 

I recall after 9-11 and no one was cruising Celebrity started switching out more expensive meats, vegetables and lettuces. But eventually the products reappeared. So I hope in this case things turn around where they are generating profits and return to fresh vegetables!!!  
 

so sad….

Wow.  You literally have entirely too much time on your hands.  

38 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Would it be in the taxi companies best interest to know which ships would be in ports so the can make money 

FYI- this has literally NOTHING to do with the cruise lines.  The nyc cabs are all regulated and controlled by the cab companies and the city. 

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

A minor nit here.  You do not choose your "boarding time."  What you are choosing is the time you should arrive at the terminal to begin the check-in process.   
 

Wrong.  If you checked in online, you should have an express pass. When you get to the pier at your designated time, they just look at your express pass and your passport then you go on the ship.

54 minutes ago, m8zenblue said:

Check-in used to be 45 days prior, its now 30 days, if you check-in early on the day of you can get any embarkation time you want !

We just checked in at the 45 day mark

3 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

First world problems 🤣

Exactly.  A person complaining about spending double for a retreat experience.   What a joke

On 10/23/2022 at 12:11 PM, hcat said:

Could not track back to the "Karen" comment by bsticks(sic) And the post may be gone???

 

Having sailed more than once on E Class, we know some of the issues first hand..

Not sure what that poster knows ...or their history on Cruise Critic..,or on X

 

Fair criticism and  is always welcome on Cruise Critic...hoping BEYOND will improve as things go forward....they did their best on EDGE to quiet down music during Fine Cut dinner hours..., and did some acoustic softening in BLU after we were there

I’m right here. Not backtracking on my Karen comment.  I have been on four celebrity cruises.  I see this as complaints of nonsense.  That’s my opinion. 

On 10/17/2022 at 11:13 AM, sgadk87 said:

 

It's not noisy past 10pm, since nobody is using the outdoor space at that time. And since we had days with pretty bad weather during the trip, people mostly used the space when we docked in port. But 08-10.30 and 12-17 i would say was most noisy, but just one person pulling a chair out in the back area of the ship is enough, since that kind of sound travelling very easy. 

 

We called Front desk, but they didn't have another SV available, but they offered us an Infinite verance, which we rejected. They also told us to call if, the noisy was too much, which we never did since i simply didn't see what they could have done. 

So you complain about a person moving a chair.  Nice. 

On 10/12/2022 at 12:19 PM, PTC DAWG said:

One time on one on the Apex in the Caribbean in August…never again in hot weather, very little shade, no breeze to speak of and a lot of walking just to get to the Sunset Bar, and I like walking. 

Why go to the Caribbean in august?  Hottest month of the year there.  Also, why book a sv if you already know there is more walking involved?  

15 hours ago, Keksie said:

I have.  However, someone just posted that towards the end of their cruise masks were required due to high covid numbers.  I do not want to be stuck on a cruise and have to wear a mask.  Right now with land vacations if that happens I can leave and go someplace else.  

On no.  A mask? How horrible.   Give me a break.  

5 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I am retired and have no need to be connected on a cruise but I want to be. I like to download the news in the morning and read some of  it later. I like to maintain contact with family. I am able to control myself and not spend every. moment on the interent. It is my vacation and don't need a presumptous lecture not to connect on vacation. Celebrity understands that many passengers do need it, some for work or business, and desire faster internet and is making an upgrade. That is what this topic is about. Your posts on this thread have nothing to do with the topic. 

Sure they do.  I’m saying I’m on vacation.  I do not need to be connected to my phone every second while I’m on board.  That’s why it’s called a vacation.  

6 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Lol, this comment literally adds zero value to the conversation.  Not everyone is retired, in fact we have to work to hopefully one day retire with a nice nest egg.  Here's the best way to describe it, if I'm able to be connected and can work a little, I can take more cruises.  Otherwise I need to exhaust all my vacation days and when I eventually re-connect, I often spend 4-10x the amount of time replying to emails as I try to determine what needs to be done and what has already been done.  I have no problem with people living their best life whether that's disconnecting or be connected; ultimately I want my fellow passengers to be the happiest they can be.

Like your comment, add anything to it? Who is retired I’m not retired, but I’m on vacation. I make it a priority not to spend every moment of it on my phone, and Internet means nothing to me when I’m on a cruise.

11 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

I agree with "it's a vacation people", but me thinks that one or more "people" may be teleworking on a cruise ship 🙂

That’s unfortunate 

10 hours ago, jean87510 said:

exactly.  will never understand why these folks love to post on these threads.  Those of us who have jobs where we can't disconnect appreciate this info about the internet.  

If you are on vacation, why is it so important to do your job?  That’s why it’s called vacation. 

10 hours ago, prmssk said:

You might not realize this, but everyone doesn't vacation the same as you do.  Some may actually find an internet connection enhances their experience.  Or they may have people and things back home they need to stay connected to.

Whatever.  It’s called vacation.  Disconnect 

On 10/3/2022 at 2:44 PM, sgadk87 said:

Hi.

 

I've just returned from Beyond's sailing from Barcelona to Rome, and had high hopes for the new Starlink Internet. I have seen speedtest that shows over 100 Mbit/s posted on this forum.

Unfortunately the internet didn't felt much better than before. The speed maxed out around 2-3 Mbit/s, so my thought is that celebrity is limit the speed a lot. I talked with one of the officers, that told the speed was excellent the first week, but now slow as before. He mentioned that the first week even gaming was possible.

 

I had to do some Facetime calls (without video), but have to give up. The upload was suffering a lot, so every 30-45 second, the other person wasn't able to hear me.

 

This is quite a bummer for me. I know people have different expectations, but if you have to use it to work, it has to be stable. One thing i noted was the latency was improved, and around 50ms.

 

I'm wondering if Starlink is okay with this user experience, if Celebrity limit the speed so much? 

 

 

It’s a vacation people. Use your phone to take pictures unplug from reality for a few weeks.

9 hours ago, PKB said:

I have four proctored Emed tests I was saving for our cruise in February, 2023.  But if testing is still not required, what to do with them?  Can't return them.....

We are still going to do our test since I paid for them.

9 hours ago, smvthecpanj said:

Received notice for my Celebrity Apex cruise leaving October 29

from Rome that "guests MUST present a negative covid test

within 2 days."  If I "forget" to take the test when I go to check in am I screwed? 

Will Celebrity give me a complementary test when I check in?

 

 

Order the proctored test that you can get on the Celebrity website. Then you can do them two days before anywhere. Where you have an Internet connection. They take about 15 minutes.

On 10/3/2022 at 8:58 AM, mfs2k said:

 

The main benefit is they will "guarantee" you make your cruise in the event of flight delays or cancellations. (to the best of their ability).  When you book on your own, you are on your own. 

Which is precisely why you get to your location where the cruises leaving at least one day early. Then you don’t need to worry about it.

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

Just been reading this thread out of interest.

We tend to do a mixture on a cruise - sometimes we like to sit and wait for someone to come around and ask what we would like, other times we sit at the Martini Bar and at the Sunset Bar we tend to go to collect a drink. Service pre Covid was always very good, with the odd busy time when we had to wait a while.... a wave and a smile often helped 🙂

I do think that sometimes passengers lack patience. Will always remember on our first Celebrity cruise on Silhouette we were at the Pool bar being served and a very stroppy 'lady' came up to the bar tender and a waiter (who had just arrived and was really busy) and ranted at them (VERY rudely) that there were people by the pool waiting for a drink and she expected to be served NOW! She then trotted off back to the pool area. The waiter just looked at his colleague with a look that spoke volumes and went the other way. My husband and I almost clapped him. She was sooooo rude and he was having none of it ! Why she just didn't order a drink while she was there and take it back herself was beyond me as she was more than capable. She could also have mentioned then that that there were some other folk at the pool waiting.

I suppose what I am trying to say, and rambling a bit, is that sometimes the most well-meaning wine waiters are rushed off their feet and IF we can we just go to the bar. I can fully understand though that if you have a mobility issue then trying to catch someone's eye must be frustrating. 

People just like to complain.  

On 10/2/2022 at 12:39 PM, svmodi said:

We will be in St Maarten in December on RCCL from 9:00-6:00. We already did an island tour on our first visit. This time we would like to spend the day at Orient Beach and Maho Beach (just to see the planes) and then short stop at Marigot open stall (time permitting). When is the best time to go to Maho Beach (in the morning or afternoon) to see the big planes come in? Is this doable by taxi or should we hire a tour operator/excursion?

It’s hard to say.  Planes coming in and out all day so it’s up to you.  That might be too

much for one day though.  I would just get a taxi at the port.  Tours limit your

time. 

If you are on the Beyond, you won't need to upgrade your wifi, as the Beyond has the new starlink wifi.  From what I understand, it is pretty fast.  Y'all need to relax.  You are on vacation.  Disconnect from your phone and enjoy the vacation.  

1 hour ago, adolfo2 said:

I'm willing to recalibrate my expectations just as soon as Celebrity stops recalibrating the cruise fare(s) upward.

 

Can't have it both ways... substandard service, etc. along with eye-watering price increases 😞

Entitlement.   That’s what it is.  

25 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Curious to learn why expecting to get what one pays for makes us entitled? 

Because people complain about everything on here.  

On 9/27/2022 at 4:17 AM, wineoclock said:

I agree if we are paying more then I expect either the same service as pre pandemic or better. 
 

I really don’t understand why I’m meant to give Celebrity a break about service. The staff yes, as it’s not their fault, but not Celebrity itself; they aren’t doing me a favour for allowing me to sailing on their ships. I’m paying for the privilege. And very happy & excited to do so. 

Sense of entitlement, just a tad bit?